“Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you,” 2 Corinthians 7:2-3.
While few could match the passion and degree of love that Paul had for his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, or the people of God and the cause of the Gospel, nevertheless at least a measure of his love should be in every Christian heart.
I believe I can echo, albeit faintly, this explanation he sends to the believers in Corinth, of the tenor of his letters to the church and the condemnations and rebukes they contained.
In his closing letter to Timothy, Paul left these words for every preacher to observe and practice.
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine,” 2 Timothy 4:1-2.
Thee can be no preaching of the Word of God without, reproving, rebuking, exhorting with all longsuffering and doctrine! Love cannot remain silent in the face of error and wrong-doing.
Such was the ministry Dr Ian Paisley in his heyday. Such is what I imbibed, at least to some degree, under his tuition.
These are the days spoken of by Paul when “perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1) and in the face of such departure and apostasy many professing Christians, even those who profess to be God’s servants, “will not endure sound doctrine”, (2 Timothy 4:3).
At least something of this spirit is very evident within the Free Presbyterian Church today. What the Lord led our forefathers out of the apostate Presbyterian Church in Ireland to preach and uphold – SEPARATION from the apostasy – is no longer fully and faithfully practised by all Free Presbyterians.
Even ministers and elders are seen to be guilty of forsaking this truth.
Target
Saying such does not cause one to win ‘a popularity contest’! Indeed, when you seek to obey God you become the target of abuse and slander and every effort is made by some to silence your witness by accusing you of falsehood and deceit.
That was the experience of Jeremiah.
“Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words,” Jeremiah 18:18.
It was also the experience of our sinless Saviour!
“Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; but found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death,” Matthew 26:59-66.
In the light of this, we ought to remember the warning the Saviour issued to His faithful servants.
I quote it at length:—
“The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward,” Matthew 10:24-42.
If ever those words were relevant, they are especially so today!
Division has broken out amongst us and that BECAUSE of what the Word of Christ tells us to believe and do in this age of apostasy!
Some have chosen to re-establish and maintain links with organisations which embrace and promote evil. Many have shown their ignorance of God’s Word by not opposing such a rejection of the stand and witness of the Free Presbyterian Church, which every minister and elder has solemnly sworn to uphold!
Others, seeing these things and privately disagreeing with them, nevertheless will not openly oppose such, but rather will sheepishly acquiesce in and join with the denouncing of those who challenge such unscriptural behaviour!
And there are those who observing this disobedience and compromise and failure to stand up for TRUTH, and knowing it is wrong and contrary to the witness of the Free Presbyterian Church in the past, remain quiet lest they draw attention to themselves and become the subjects of opposition!
Do such not realise that the Lord SEES all this and will not forever tolerate such sinfulness?
Vindication
The One Who was, and still is by many, called “Beelzebub”, will one day be gloriously vindicated before all men for Who He truly is!
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” Philippians 2:5-11.
Such as have the “mind” or ‘thinking’ of Christ in them, will likewise enjoy vindication in that day of the Saviour’s glory.
Paul goes on to say: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life,” Philippians 2:14-16.
That is what is called for today.
No Bible
I have remarked that those who rail against us do so with little or no reference to God’s Word.
These past ‘Burning Bush’ articles show this to be so.
Response to Rev R Johnstone’s Presbytery statement against me
The slide accelerates!
A final word – for the present!
No Bible in their hands!
The oft repeated phrase, frequently uttered by Dr Paisley in the years of blessing was: ‘THUS SAITH THE LORD!’
That phrase is rarely on the lips of those who resent and rebel against the condemning of the sin and compromise that has surfaced within the Free Presbyterian Church!
That in itself highlights that something is very wrong.
A mere glance at the letter sent to Rev Alan Dunlop by Presbytery Officers, telling him that he was banned from praying in or partaking at the Lord’s Table in any Free Presbyterian church, will indicate that not one word of Holy Scripture is to be found in it — not even a motto text!
Backsliding entails a setting aside of God’s Word and thinking, speaking and acting in a manner contrary to the revelation of Holy Scripture.
Think of Peter, who most foolishly opposed the Lord when He revealed that rejection by the elders and crucifixion that lay ahead of Him. The Saviour indicated that he was thinking and speaking like the devil! Christians can do that!!
“Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men,” Matthew 16:22-23.
That is where some in the Free Presbyterian Church are today – resisting the Word of God and adopting the thinking of the devil!
They want to turn the clock back and return to fellowshipping with the defiers of God within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and such like. They want to adopt the world’s song in place of the ‘the new song’ grace would implant in our hearts!
The words of Christ to Ephesus are to be heard and feared.
“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent,” Revelation 2:5.
That threat has been carried out many times over and we see it today amongst churches that not so long ago walked with God but today have become “a den of thieves’ and “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”
Only a proud and defiant fool thinks it cannot happen to the Free Presbyterian Church.
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
19th September 2026